[Open] Cowboys And Sorcerers

[Deleted]

The sun hovered high, straight above the city of Londinium. It was noon, and many Adventurers were spending this day drinking and partying at the Log Inn, a tavern run by People of The Land and frequented by both Adventurers and People of The Land alike. Voices were drowned out by other voices as everyone loudly enjoyed themselves. Soon, a handsome Adventurer, with smooth, pure black hair that hung down in a long ponytail, a handsome face, and possibly too much beauty sleep, walked in, pushing the door open with his right hand, his left hand holding the scabbard of his sword. He walked to the bar counter and sat down, leaning his sheathed sword against the counter as a barkeep walked to his, washing dishes with a rag. "Well, if it ain't Mr. Big-Shot-Adventurer! What brings you t' my place, Dumah?"

The Swashbuckler waved his hand in a gesture of modesty, as if blowing away the nickname the bartender used. "Please, I am no big shot adventurer yet." The Person of The Land laughed boisterously as Dumah ended his remark with 'yet.'

"Well, ya sure helped us out around here! You helped protect our shipment from them bandits, after all."

Dumah bridged his fingers, leaning forward a bit, his interlocked hands in front of his face. "Yes, that is actually in part the reason I came here."

The bartender grinned humorously as he washed another glass mug. "What, did ya wanna hear us thank you again?" He laughed quite heartily once again.

Dumah smiled under his hands and chuckled softly. "No, the free drink and meal was quite the reward. Actually, I have come hoping you could help me find some capable Adventurers."

The man stared at his own reflection in the glass, as if it were a way of testing his work in cleaning the glass. "What ever happened to that big group you had? Your guild go under or something?"

"Actually, the Boston Tea Party was not a guild. We were more of an impromptu raid party... And while I am being honest - I have not seen the majority of its former members in quite some time. Perhaps they are off to bigger and better things. All though, speaking of guilds, I did recently found my own, but that is a story for another visit. I need to find some Adventurers to form a party. I was issued a quest to hunt a small party of bandit Adventurers. A merchant issued a bounty for the return of a valuable ring the bandit stole."

The bartender laughed a bit, much more calmly than before. He looked at Dumah with a face of soft surprise. "Dumah, you should know that y' don't need me to find a party for you. Look around, kid! Surely you ain't so blind as to not realize how many people we had."

Dumah looked over his shoulders at the tavern full of rowdy Adventurers. He smiled a bit and chuckled. "Yes, I suppose you are right." Dumah stood, held his sheathed sword in his left hand, then raised his right hand straight up, as if hoping to attract the attention of the numerous patrons indulging in drink, food, and pleasure. He then spoke in a loud voice. "I am looking to form a party! We will be heading to the Windsor Greatwood to hunt down a small group of bandits! There is a bounty on the leader of these bandits, and upon turning in this quest, the bounty will be split evenly between all who join me!" He waited a few moments, allowing the Adventurers a chance to contemplate the offer and respond.

- 609 Words -
- Total: 609 -
Note: I will be paying this bounty out of my own pocket. The bounty will be determined based off how many people join.

[Fletcher]

More often than not, when it came to relaxing after a long day of running errands or venturing out into the wilderness, he ended up here. He’d been trounced a bit today after checking out some leads a couple of merchants were talking about earlier that day. Sadly, none of the leads seemed to hold water and he turned up empty-handed. After a meal he turned in early for the night before waking early the next morning. Londinium was fairly pleasant during the day, and he took a slow start to it with no plans ahead of him. He could seek out more information about the Greatwood and what beings lived in there, or head to the room he rented and do some more Alchemy, but that was a decision to be made later.

Lunchtime rolled around fairly quickly and the Log Inn became packed with the lunchtime rush. It was a hub of sorts for adventurers to swap information, get a good meal, or to just spend time while they had little else to do. At a table near the bar Fletcher sat with his meal, Carbuncle lounging over his left shoulder and keeping a lookout for any mention of the word ‘Summoner’. For a while now Fletcher had taken to doing this while looking for quests as the ones meant for Summoners were generally going to be the ones that tailored to his needs and skills better than the more generic ones that seemed to circulate. Without a proper raiding party it was hard to get anything major done. Carbuncle nudged him in the side of the head and he looked over to a Swashbuckler that Carbuncle was pointing out.

This man had his arm raised and sword held in his other hand before proclaiming something to the patrons. ”Forming a party, huh?” He spoke to Carbuncle in a hushed tone, looking to the blue fox draped across his shoulder. ”Not as if there’s anything better to do, right?” The blue fox yawned and got comfortable, not really giving an indication as to how it felt about accepting the proposal from the man giving an open invitation. Fletcher sighed and ran a hand through his beard, fixing it up. There was a pause before he stood up, causing Carbuncle some alarm from the sudden shift in elevation.

Now Fletcher wasn’t as tall nor as levelled as some of the other patrons of the tavern, but it was better than sitting on his ass all day doing nothing. Besides, as he had learned previously, working as a team and travelling in numbers was much more beneficial for one’s health. Pushing his way around the people between him and this Swashbuckler, he stood before the Swashbuckler, arms folded and looking up from his smaller, Dwarven height. From what the overlay told him, this guy was named Dumah; and while he had many levels over him, he might still be of some help. ”Bandits, huh? Not sure if I’ll be much help but I’ll give you a hand if you need it. Carbuncle is in, although he doesn’t have a choice.” Fletcher gestured to the blue fox on his shoulder who at mention of its named had perked up and looked Dumah over before settling down.

Word Count: 545

[Deleted]

Wherever you go in Elder Tale, there's always someone looking for a party, someone looking for adventure. It's a pity that Kat can never find those people. Kat groaned as she looked around the Log Inn, bored out of her mind. Usually, this place was a hotspot for adventurers looking for parties, but no one so far had brought up any quests, or at least any quests that they would need a Cleric for (it was times like these where she hated herself for not choosing an offensive class). 'Elder Tale. So much fun when you're playing it, not as fun when you're living it.' she thought to herself, chuckling softly. Opening her menu, she navigated over to the "Guild" tab. "Noihara..." she muttered under her breath. It was odd to her that she was in a guild now, she honestly never thought that she would ever get invited to one. Now that she was in one, it felt... kind of nice, actually. It felt nice to have people you could count on. Well, three people, and she didn't even know one of them that well, but hey, what could she expect. Dumah only founded it a little while ago after all.

'Wasn't anything on the bulletin board, and there's nothing here either. Maybe I should just call Dumah up, see if he wants to do something-'

"Well, if it ain't Mr. Big-Shot-Adventurer! What brings you t'my place, Dumah?"

Kat froze. Seriously? 'Speak of the devil and he doth appear.' she thought, grinning. Well now, maybe her chronic boredom would be sated after all.

"Please, I am no big shot adventurer yet." The barkeep laughed.

"Well, ya sure helped us out around here! You helped protect our shipment from them bandits, after all."

Dumah bridged his fingers, leaning forward a bit, his interlocked hands in front of his face. "Yes, that is actually in part the reason I came here.

The bartender grinned humorously as he washed another glass mug. "What, did ya wanna hear us thank you again?"

Dumah smiled at the bartender and chuckled softly. "No, the free drink and meal was quite the reward. Actually, I have come hoping you could help me find some capable Adventurers." Kat perked up at that. 

"What ever happened to that big group you had? Your guild go under or something?"

"Actually, the Boston Tea Party was not a guild. We were more of an impromptu raid party... And while I am being honest - I have not seen the majority of its former members in quite some time. Perhaps they are off to bigger and better things. All though, speaking of guilds, I did recently found my own," Kat grinned at that. "but that is a story for another visit. I need to find some Adventurers to form a party. I was issued a quest to hunt a small party of bandit Adventurers. A merchant issued a bounty for the return of a valuable ring the bandit stole."

The bartender laughed a bit, much more calmly than before. "Dumah, you should know that y' don't need me to find a party for you. Look around, kid! Surely you ain't so blind as to not realize how many people we had."

Dumah looked over his shoulders and scanned the tavern. "Yes, I suppose you are right." Grabbing his sword and raising his arm, he spoke loudly. "I am looking to form a party! We will be heading to the Windsor Greatwood to hunt down a small group of bandits! There is a bounty of the leader of these bandits, and upon turning in this quest, the bounty will be split evenly between all who join me!" Kat grinned at this. She was feeling a little light in the pockets anyhow.

She heard a couple people in the the tavern start muttering about the Swashbuckler's quest. "Not as if there's anything better to do, right?" a Dwarf muttered, glancing at the small, blue fox on his shoulder.

'So, he's a summoner then...' Kat thought as she stared at the Carbuncle on the portly man's shoulders. She had to admit, it looked quite a bit cuter in real life than it did over a monitor.

The Dwarf sighed as he quickly fixed up his beard and stood up, startling his Carbuncle. Pushing his way through the crowd, he stood before Dumah, looking up at him. "Bandits, huh? Not sure if I'll be much help, but I'll give you a hand if you need it." Alright then, so Dumah has one person at least. "Carbuncle is in, although he doesn't have a choice." he stated, motioning towards the fox, who had perked up.

'Eh, now's as good a time as any to make myself known.' Kat stood up, and looked over to Dumah. 'Should I use the shy act?' she contemplated. Actually, yeah, why not. Dumah probably needs way more people than he currently has, and from Kat's own personal experience, people always seem to want to join groups she's in. She assumed it was just because people wanted to protect the "shy, moe girl" from harm.

As much as it kills the Joel part of Katarina, she's going with the shy act. "I-I'll go with you!" she shouted, trying her best to make her stutter sound as authentic as possible. Everyone turned to Kat. 'Okay, this is for Dumah, this is to get Dumah more people... oh, who am I kidding, this is not worth the embarrassment!' Her face flushed as she heard an "Aww" from the patrons. 'Silence from the peanut gallery!' she fumed silently. As useful as it is, Kat really hated her shy façade, it really did attract too much attention to her. Granted, that was a good thing at the moment, but still... it was embarrassing.

Silently, she walked over to Dumah, glancing up at him. Hopefully she was right about the whole "protect the moe!" thing, or else that whole heap of embarrassment was for nothing. She looked around the tavern, waiting for someone else to speak up.

[Word Count: 1009
Tags: @dumah Fletcher
Notes: I just realised, with this I've posted in three RP threads on this site, and they've all been threads with Dumah in them. Huh.]

[Deleted]

When Kuro wasn't doing any quests or wasn't traveling somewhere, he loved to have late-night walks. He liked the calm nature of the night. Even here in London it was still sorta calm, even tho it started to feel more like the "real-world" London, busy at all times. *sigh* (Well, I have nothing to do for some time, I think I'll have a day off tomorow, I need to find some place to sleep in.)
So he wandered around the city until he found a travern that he liked. The Log Inn, even at this time, there was quite a lot of poeple, but they still had free rooms.
Kuro looked around and then headed towards the barkeep. "I'd like to rent a room for 1 or 2 nights." The barkeep looked at him. "Well, I don' see a problem with it, if ya got the coin."
The assassin threw few coins on the counter. "I'm sure that's enough for 1 night." "Yea, that's 'nough." As the barkeep handed him the keys to his new room, he looked around the room. Can I also ask you for a small favor? See that table in the corner of the room, with that one chair? Could you please reserve it for me? The barkeep looked the way Kuro was pointing. "Hmm, ok no worries, when will you need it?" "From the mornin'. "Alright, then would ya pay for the favor?" Kuro threw him two coins. "Thanks."
(Nice, now I can undetected listen to any rumors, quests and all sorts of work.)

The next day he woke up quite fresh, which was quite surprising, considering he went to sleep like 4 hours ago. Afterwards he went to his reserved table. (In a dark corner, with no candle and only one chair. I love it.) As he grinned, he ordered a water and some food. When asked why not something with a bit more fire in it, he answered: "Gotta keep all my sences in a good state. That satisfied the barkeep. But the assassin then muttered quietly "And I also hate the taste of alcohol."

Nothing really interesting seemed to be happening until somewhat 'round noon. From his spot, he had a good view of the whole room.Kuro Because of that he did not miss as one his old friends entered the inn. It seemed that Katarina was here for the same or at least similiar reason as he was. To find something to do. (Hmm, I wanna know if she'll even notice me.) "Heh." And what he could see from the overlay she joined a guild. (Noihara, I've not heard of this guild yet. Hmm. Good for her.) He smiled slightly, but afterwards went back to his previous activity.

A few minutes later he was surprised by yet another one of his friends. Dumah headed straight towards the barkeep. From what Kuro gathered, they knew eachother for quite some time.
Few momenst later Dumah turned 'round asking for anyone who'd like to join his party to hunt down some bandits, ensuring that the rewards will be split evenly between all participants.  "Ha." (Well job's a job and if I'm gonna do it with an old friend why not.) Kuro loved trying to be undetected and so he slowly got up from his table and while blending in with the crowd, he made his way slowly towards Dumah.
At the same time, Kuro was making his way slowly towards Dumah a dwarf sorcerer had already got to Dumah. He made a comment, that he may not be helpful, but that he willl try. (So that's two. And I think there is bound to be somone, who will join him before I do.) And at that time he heard a familiar voice from the back of the room. It was kinda nervous and shy. All heads turned towards Katarina That gave Kuro the chance to get behind Dumah, but still hidden in the crowd. He then watched Katarina's act and had to admit that she was good. Kuro never completely trusted Katarina. Don't get me wrong, he did consider her his friend and would trust her with his life, but he always new that she is definitely not as shy and harmless as she pretends to be.
When Katarina finished her act, she joined Dumah and Kuro noticed that Dumah and Kat were in the same guild. (Well, I guess that that's the guild Dumah was talking about with the barkeep.
When she finaly stood next to Dumah, Kuro made his "appearance". He got quietly right behind Dumah and Kat. (I hope that at least she will get startled a lil' bit) He grinned and finaly annouced his presence to the group: "So would you be interested in my services for ol' time's sake?"
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[Word count: 801
Tags: @bornfromvelvet @dumah Fletcher ]

[Deleted]

When it came to places to stay in town, Sayha wasn’t picky. She couldn’t afford to be as she hadn’t done any true leveling yet. For the time being, she had made herself content with just hanging around the Log Inn. Today, though, it was extraordinarily loud, even for the Log Inn which meant she would be able to drown in her own thoughts for a while.

Even though she didn’t want to deal with people, or rather people didn’t want to deal with her usually, she knew the best way to get herself going would be to find a guild or at least a temporary party. She needed to get leveled, preferably quickly, so she could get herself started.

Sayha overheard one of the barkeeps talk to another adventurer which was not surprising, but what caught her attention was that he was called a big-shot. However, most of the conversation had been drowned out thanks to the other patrons at the bar.

After a moment though, she heard the adventurer begin to talk loudly, stating that he wanted to form a party. She turned to where she the guy was actually talking. He explained that the party would be heading to the Windsor Greatwood, nearby Londinium, to hunt down a group of bandits. The Greatwood was a lower-level area where most beginners would quest and level. It sounded like an okay deal.

“Interesting,” Sayha said to herself, which she could barely hear.

Some piped up almost automatically, and she studied the new person talking. With the familiar at his side, it was probably a Summoner, and he was a lower-level like I was.

After, someone else shouted that they would join them, a fox tail girl said. Sayha wasn’t sure about her role, though.

As the group formed, she also saw another guy go to the group, but he didn’t say anything in particular, or at least she didn’t hear anything. From his silence, Sayha assumed he was an Assassin like she was.

This is what she was waiting for, whether she wanted to admit it or not. It wasn’t that she wanted to deal with people but rather needed a group to level. At least that was what she kept telling herself internally. She stood up and walked over to the group. Turning to the Swashbuckler who originally spoke, she spoke, “If you have room, I’d like to join. I know my level is low, but I’ll do what I can.”
---
Word Count: 413
Tags: @dumah Fletcher @bornfromvelvet @kurosan

[Lucian]

It was too late to work and too soon to drink, but either way, Lucian found himself in the Log Inn once again. It was an odd thing to see People of The Land and Adventures mixed so freely, but then who was he to talk, he often spent most of mid day talking to Cheryl as he was right now. "I'm telling you, going out there and killing monsters is what I should be doing if I want to make a name for myself! How else will customers know about me?" Cheryl shook her head at his protests, seeming to insisting that doing such is dangerous, it's how people get killed. Lucian gave a deep sigh, shaking his head."We've been over that; I'll be just fine, Cheryl. Please, stop worrying about me."
 
-"Well, ya sure helped us out around here! You helped protect our shipment from them bandits, after all."

That did happen, didn't it? Lucian brushed those off as rumors a couple weeks back, knowing that if they weren't then some adventurer better than him would take care of it just fine. "Cheryl, that could be me. I won't die I promise." As reassuring as his confidence was Cheryl couldn't help but frown at the idea of Lucian throwing himself into danger, or maybe she was upset that he was eating his sandwich while talking to her.

The Samurai eyed the people that started raising their hands and spoke out in hopes to join the Swashbuckler on his quest, all while chewing his sandwich. Less tomato next time. He thought to himself before actually paying attention to the company he'd be keeping if he opted to join. The dwarf seems nice, I guess; the fox is cute. He shifted slightly in his seat, looking to the seemingly shy fox tail. Hmmm... His eyes trailed the people moving towards the swashbuckler, two elves from the looks of it; he scratched behind his ear out of habit, shaking his head. "See, the company he's keeping isn't that bad!" His exclamation to Cheryl went unheard as he turned to face were she was sitting, only to find a note left behind and her gone. I ate the other half of your sandwich, please come back safely. He stared at the note written on the napkin with a blank expression for a while before his lips curled to a soft frown. He folded the note and held onto it as he looked back to the party, jumping up out of his seat. The bartender looked at him and then to the counter, making sure Lucian left money to pay for his food this time; Lucian rolled his eyes.

Lucian made his way to the other end of the counter, looking down at his hand with the note before looking up to the Swashbuckler."Dumah, is it? I'd like to tag along if you'd be willing. You don't seem to have someone to take the hits anyway, I could be good for that."

Words:501
Tags: @dumah Fletcher @bornfromvelvet @kurosan @shadowsaiph
----
Cheryl: Angry

[Deleted]

Several people came forth to join Dumah's party: Fletcher, a Dwarven Summoner; Sayha, an Elf Assassin; Lucian, an Elf Samurai; and two Adventurers Dumah had already met some time ago: Katarina, and Kuro. Dumah smiled as his party size came to six. He nodded to himself, content with the size of his group. He sent a party invitation to each Adventurer, tapping at the air in front of him as he navigated menus. Soon, each player had a notification alerting them to the party invitation. Dumah waited as each person tapped the air in front of them, accepting the invite. After everyone had joined the party, Dumah led them out of the tavern, speaking as they headed to the edge of Londinium, towards the Windsor Greatwood. "The group we will be hunting is comprised of four Adventurers: A Guardian, a Cleric, an Enchanter, and their leader - a Monk. Assuming they are not camping out in a large, open clearing, we should be able to use the trees to our benefit in getting some reconnaissance on the camp." With this, the party began to walk out of town; Dumah occasionally checked a crude map he had with him, and by the time night had fallen upon the woods, Dumah stopped walking. "The camp should be about twenty meters north of here." The swashbuckler folded up the shabby map, putting it into his pocket. "Kuro, Sayha, you are both Assassins; do you two have any skills that would help you sneak around the camp and gather some information regarding our opponents?" Dumah then looked to Fletcher. "Fletcher, perhaps you could send in a familiar of yours to collect some information as well? If anyone has any ideas, I am all ears." The party knelt down, speaking in hushed whispers, hidden by the trees and shrubberies of the area.

- 306 Words -
- Total: 915 -

I will be playing the bandits. Here are their levels:

Monk: 18
Enchanter: 14
Cleric: 15
Guardian: 17

Tags: Fletcher @bornfromvelvet @kurosan @shadowsaiph Lucian

[Deleted]

    Sayha listened to Dumah carefully. When he was done talking, Sayha began to speak in a hushed tone, “For my Assassin skills, they’re more for up-front fighting. However, I’m also a Tracker so I have the Silent Move ability. I’ll head to the west side of the camp and see what I can find. It may take me a while since I can only move at 50% speed with it activated. Kuro, if you can, you should head to the east side since it will be opposite of me. You may be able to see stuff I can’t.”

    When she was given the okay, Sayha quietly made her way away from the others and activated her Silent Move ability. Even though it felt like forever to make her way towards the west-side of the bandit’s camp, it was well worth the silence. Once she was close enough to the camp, she slowly and quietly climbed up one of the trees and found a branch to perch on.

    In the center of the camp was a small fire smoldering on left-over wood. Sitting around the fire, she could make out three adventurers, laughing and talking among themselves. Around them was gear that she assumed were taken from the bandit’s targets.

The three that were in the group were the Guardian, the Enchanter, and the Cleric, and their levels were 17, 14, and 15 respectively. The leader wasn’t in sight, at least not right away. After a moment, a Monk walked over to the group, and he talked to them in a very formal tone, which she did not anticipate. However with how the others were listening to him, he was definitely the leader as well as the highest-leveled at 18.

    Sayha had enough information for now. She silently make her way down the tree and back to where the others were waiting for her.

    “Their levels concern me,” Sayha said quietly, sitting down, “the monk is 18, the guardian 17, the chanter 14, and the cleric 15. Other than you Dumah, we’re significantly lower than they are. Also, they have plans to hit another camp early in the morning; we’ll need to hit them tonight. I think the best way to deal with them is ambush them quickly. It may not be the most honorable way, but I think it has the best success chance.”

---

Word Count: 394

Total Count: 807

Tags: @dumah Fletcher @bornfromvelvet @kurosan Lucian

[Deleted]

When they left the tavern Kuro, like he usualy does when he joins a group, observed the members of the group. He already knew Dumah and Kat, so he focused on the "new people":

Fletcher looked like a decent man, but lookin' kinda down. "Heh" (Did not even mean that as a joke) It also seemed that he is really attached to his Carbuncle.

Lucian was a quiet and did not realy engage in conversations. (I like that trait, means there will be no anoying, unedning comments to every single thing he sees.) At the same time he looked like he was a part of some nobility or something, the way he walked and acted. (Not sure if he's just acting like that, or if it is how he truly is.)

And now to the another assassin. Sayha also seemed kinda introverted, but did not hesitate to say her opinion. That will usualy make a lot of people unhappy, but Kuro realy liked this nature of her. (It means there will not be any stupid smalltalk and that she will talk to the topic/problem.) Kuro could not help, but to like her the most out of the three of them.
__

When they got to their destination Dumah sent him and Sayha to scout ahead because they were both assassins, and probably had some skills that'd help them avoid detection.
Sayha was quick to answer that he assassin skills are more for "up-front fighting", but het Tracker abilites alow her to use "Silent Move". Then she wnt to the west side of the camp, warning them it might take a while. (Slow, but useful and safe.) Also, before she departed she told Kuro to go the the opposite of her side so he can see/heaar what she can't. Kuro nodded and then Sayha left. "I have the {Hiding Entery} ability so I may be able to sneak there, but the sneak will be my own skill... so it should be as good as if I was using {Silent Move}." Then he got an idea. "I'm gonna use the telepathy so I can inform you on the spot, and if you will want to, start the attack." He then proceeded to start a conversation with Dumah. When he accepted it Kuro whispered: "{Hiding Entery}." and disapeard from everyones sight.

He got to the east side of the bandit camp he saw four adventurers. A monk, guardian, enchater and a cleric. all of them higher levels then his or most of the other members of their group. The assassin then looked around. There was a boulder big enough to provide cover for a ranged player. But that was probably where they'd check if anyone shot them, what got Kuro's attention was the quite well climbable tree right next to the boulder. So he got an idea. He used the {Dimensional Shot} ability, as if the shot would come from behind the boulder, if someone quickly peeked on the side and shot, while he himself climbed on the tree. It was not so high as he would wish, but he could not get too far away from where he prepared the {Dimensional Shot}. Then he aimed his crossbow and whispered to Dumah: "I can see all of them, and can shoot any of them if you want me to. But if you wish to wait I will fall back, although I think waiting is a mistake."
_______________________________________________________
[Word count: 574
Tags: Fletcher @shadowsaiph @dumah @bornfromvelvet Lucian ]

[Fletcher]

After Fletcher had volunteered to help out Dumah with his task, it seemed that a bunch of other adventurers were also of the same mind and joined on as well. The invites were sent out and the formed a neat party of six before They left the tavern and headed towards the Windsor Greatwood, Dumah filling them in on the details as they walked. They stopped twenty meters from where they were supposedly to find the band of rogues according to the rough sketch that Dumah was referring to. It was night, or at least the early stages of it and they got to work.

When they had left the town, Fletcher had dismissed Carbuncle for both the ease of travel and to not have his MP depleting on him, although with them being so close it was getting closer to when he’d need the blue fox’s assistance again. The Assassins of the party were tasked with reconnaissance before Dumah looked to the only Summoner of the group for his assignment. ”I’ll send out Carbuncle. I haven’t needed to do spywork before, but at least we’ll have another set of eyes on the situation as it unfolds.” Snapping his fingers and directing Carbuncle to the direction the targets were, the Assassins headed off around the same time. Sayha was the first back, commenting on that their levels concerned her. There wasn’t that much of a discrepancy between his levels and some of the weaker ones in the opposing group, but the leader was going to be an issue.

Kuro disappeared when he left and was yet to return. Carbuncle had obviously remained hidden as Fletcher’s MP was still draining and there were no sounds of commotion, although where to go from here? Fletcher looked to Dumah, ”Will you be taking up the role of tanking these guys for us, Dumah? If so…” Fletcher raised a single finger before drawing a circle in the air between him and Dumah. The Sigil of Aquarius shone and buffed Dumah’s Vitality by 5%, while it wasn’t much it was going to at least help. He did the same to himself although boosting his Intelligence to make his spells more potent for the inevitable upcoming battle.

He wished that he’d been a little more prepared for this in terms of gear and practise. He could’ve made some accessories or something to help out the level difference if only he’d known. The sad thing was, and the realisation that occurred was that there was going to be no way of him ever knowing that this was going to happen. Going forward though, he was sure to find himself loaded with things for any situation, or at least that was the plan.

Word Count: 455
Total Word Count: 1000

[Deleted]

By the time that the party had made it to the Greatwood, night had already fallen. Dumah had already explained who they were hunting, and Kat had to admit; she was feeling pretty confident. It was six against four after all, so as long as the bandits weren't too high a level, they should be fine. Dumah looked up from his map, and stopped. "The camp should be about twenty miles north of here." he stated, folding up his map and shoving it into his coat pocket. The two Assassins and Fletcher's Carbuncle were sent out on reconnaissance, and Dumah asked if anyone else had any ideas. Kat shyly shook her head. "I-I don't think I can add anything until we have more information..." she muttered softly.

Sayha was the first one to return from recon. “Their levels concern me,” she said quietly. “the monk is 18, the guardian 17, the chanter 14, and the cleric 15."

'Ah, christ...' That wasn't good. Suddenly, Katarina didn't feel so well. Barring Dumah, everyone in the party was a lower level than the bandit party's weakest member. 'Lucian is going to have a bit of trouble...' she thought as she looked over to the Samurai. Honestly, Kat was hoping that he was going to be able to take some of the hits, but he was only level one. He wouldn't last long against the Monk or the Guardian. 

"I think the best way to deal with them is ambush them quickly. It may not be the most honorable way, but I think it has the best success chance.” Kat nodded.

"That seems to be the smartest idea..." she said softly. "You and Lucian are going to have to be very cautious." she finished, eyeing their levels. A level one and a level two rushing into battle against a level 18 and a level 17... Any idiot could see the problems. Fletcher looked over to Dumah.

"Will you be taking up the role of tanking these guys for us, Dumah? If so..." Fletcher quickly drew a circle in the air, buffing Dumah's Vitality by 5%. It wasn't much, but it'd help a little anyways.

Kat sighed as she went over all of the information in her head. After a few moments of calculations, she was certain of one fact. 'We are so screwed.'

[Word Count: 389
Tags: @dumah @shadowsaiph @kurosan Fletcher Lucian]

[Lucian]

The napkin with the note was folded neatly and slipped into his front pocket, trying to keep his thoughts focused more on the task at hand. The guardian and the monk will definitely be the most troublesome, even with the advantage of numbers. The Samurai walked beside Dumah as the party made its way through the town and towards the Windsor Greatwood, eyes veering to the side to look at the map to make note of where exactly the party was heading. "The thicket is an advantage to them too, at least after they figure out we are here." His gaze shifted from the trees back to Dumah as he spoke in a hushed tone. "The density of the trees might inhibit our ability to effectively use our weapons, if that is the case then the monk will be at a clear advantage."

As they drew closer Lucian slowed his pace of walking, not wanting his platemail to make too much noise as he tread along the forest floor. As they came to a stop Lucian took the liberty of sitting down at the base of the tree a few feet away from the clustered group of their party. He could hear well enough despite the whispering, apparently the assassins were to scout ahead, and the cute fox too. He looked away and they were gone, all he could do was hope that they didn't find any trouble.

“Their levels concern me,” Sayha said quietly, sitting down, “the monk is 18, the guardian 17, the chanter 14, and the cleric 15. The news was unsettling to say the least. "You and Lucian are going to have to be very cautious." He sat unphased, his face calm and devoid of expression, arms resting on his knees as he merely continued to listen and mentally prepare himself; he had yet to die in Elder Tale, and he wasn't sure he wanted to know what it felt like. I should have listened to you, Cheryl...I'm in way over my head on this one.

It was a good minute before Lucian spoke up. "What I said before on the way here still stands, Dumah, the monk is the most dangerous. The disparity in level is a tad bit worrisome, though samurai skills are quite strong. I might be able to handle one of the casters.." Maybe if he isolated one of them and quickly chained his strikes; casters were weak enough in HP that damage he could do would actually be significant.

Words:419
Total Words:501+419=920
Tags: @dumah Fletcher @bornfromvelvet @kurosan @shadowsaiph

[Deleted]

Dumah thought over the situation. "Kuro, do not shoot at them yet. Odds are, they will patrol the surrounding area soon; when that happens, use everything you have against the one that goes on their own. Make sure to wait until he is some distance away from the camp before doing so."

Some time passed, and the cleric stood up, then walked away from the camp. It was obvious this cleric would be serving as an off tank in the case of a battle; the caster took after a more traditional Cleric, wearing plate mail and brandishing a mace. In the time that had passed, all of the other bandits had gone to do their own thing. After the Cleric was far enough from the camp, Kuro could be heard as he used his Dimensional Shot skill. The shot made a small sound from the firing of the crossbow, and it seemed as though this would be a clean shot as the bolt flew towards the Cleric.

"Covering!" A voice was heard loud and clear, and the bolt changed its direction in the middle of its flight, hitting a silver haired Monk as he came into sight. "It would seem we have company."

The Cleric grinned a bit. "What do you want us to do with him?"

"Well, this boy is most likely not the only one who came here. He would have to be a fool to try to take on a party such as us on his own."

The Cleric spoke loud and commanding, at a volume where all members of both parties could hear him. "Come on out! We've already got your little Assassin friend, so if you want him to have a chance of surviving this encounter, all of you come out and fight us head on!"

Dumah grimaced somewhat angrily, then sighed and nodded to the rest of the party. He stood and walked with the others to the camp of the bandit party, where he was then joined by the rest of his party, the bandit party members, and lastly the Monk. Dumah's eyes went wide in shock and anger as the Monk came into his sight.

The Monk looked at Dumah and bent over in a chuckle, then flung his head up in a full on laugh. "Well! Is this a surprise or is it not? I should have expected you had something to do with this, Mr. Reecendo. Only a fool such as yourself would try to take down a party such as this with such a rag tag gang such as your own. Where is your little daughter?"

Dumah's tone was angry, unlike anything most people had ever seen of him before. Dumah rarely was so furious. "You be quiet about her! Likewise, I should have expected you were the bandits that stole that ring... We have come to get it back from that merchant you stole it-"

"'Stole?' No, Nordin-"

"Stop calling me that! My name is no longer Nordin Reecendo! I am Dumah Exilium Iino, and you would do well to remember that."

"Listen to me. You think I stole the ring? That I am in the wrong here? You know nothing of the situation at hand, it would seem. That man who hired you is a despicable man-"

"I do not care about one's past. You stole that ring, and my quest is to retrieve it-"

"MY quest is to retrieve it as well! As I was saying, that man who hired you is despicable. He is a fence, he buys and sells stolen goods. Do you see where I am going with this?"

Dumah was silent for a few moments, then he spoke more calmly. "Go on."

"I was asked to retrieve that ring for a young girl, she claims it was a gift from her late father before his passing."

Dumah softly bit his lower lip, contemplating the situation at hand. "No, you care about no one but yourself! You have some ulterior motive, I am sure of it!"

The Monk spoke fiercely, "Let's drop the moral posturing, shall we? We both know there's no altruism in your pursuit, your reckless indignation led you here, your employer counted on it!"

Dumah was silent, bristling at this point.

"I believe at this point it has nothing to do with the ring - this is about you and me. There's no shame in it, Dumah. Revenge is motivation enough, at least it's honest!" Adolf took the ring out of his pocket as he spoke, ending his speaking with a toss as he threw the ring at Dumah. "Hate me, but do it honestly!" Dumah caught the ring in his hand, and could feel the weight of decision bringing him down as he was forced to make a choice. It was no choice however, as Adolf knew which result Dumah would feel compelled to come to.

- 816 Words -
- Total: 1731 -

The choice is up to you guys: Do as you were hired to do, or give in to the moral right.
Votes:
Take the ring: 0
Give Adolf the ring: 1

[Deleted]

    When Sayha had returned, Kuro, the other assassin, was not there, but she gave her report to Dumah anyway.

    Katarina, the fox girl, had said to her and Lucian to be cautious which was a given.

    Lucian replied that the monk was the most dangerous, which was also a given, and that he could possibly handle one of the casters.

    Sayha didn’t have anything to say at that point. She knew she could take care of herself thanks to her years of martial arts. The secret to not dying would be not to get it.

    Then, Sayha heard Dumah seeming to talk to himself, but then realized that he was using telepathy to talk to probably Kuro.

    They waited for a while when she heard a loud voice, telling them to show themselves.

    “Damn it,” Sayha spat under her breath. She looked at Dumah, who looked like he was somewhere between angry and surprised. He sighed, nodding for us to follow him.

    “That is suicide; you’re really going to give up that easily?” she hissed, “We still have the upper hand.”

    When Dumah went into the clearing to face the others, Sayha unhappily followed being the last one to enter. She was seething inside.

    The leader, the Monk, looked us over. He started to chuckle which lead to a full laugh. He knew Dumah and they went back and forth in some sort of conversation if you wanted to call it that. Dumah was angry then quickly turned pensive. The more and more the two of them talked, the angrier and angrier Sayha was getting.

    The monk had taken the ring out of his pocket as he spoke. Then, when he was done, threw it to Dumah. Dumah caught it and studied it. However instead of just taking it, he looked utterly defeated.

    Sayha walked away from her party off to the side, “I didn’t realize our party leader was such a wimp.”

    Sayha was furious, actually beyond furious. It wasn’t the fact that the quest was really morally corrupt; under different circumstances she would have given up the ring, that’s just how she was. What made her mad was that that Dumah hadn’t been up-front with this quest. Of course, she herself never pushed for details; that was her own fault.

    Sayha took a deep breath. She carefully thought about the situation before turning to the monk, “You know, I’m interested in hearing the full story between you and the Swashbuckler here. We obviously didn’t get the full story before signing up; details he should have given us when we originally set up to do this quest. That’s my own fault for not asking the right questions. Now, I have no interested in being used to feeding someone’s vendetta or revenge. I’d ask the Swashbucker, but I have a feeling that he wouldn’t tell the full story. Would you care to? After that, I’m sure Dumah would love to fill in the details when you’re done though.”

---
Word Count: 498
Total Count: 1305

[Deleted]

Dumah put the attack on hold, as there is probably a patrol around here. He ordered him to attack and hopefuly kill the patrol when Kuro get's the chance. "Understood." he whispered. He stood still until he saw how the cleric departed from the group and as ordered, Kuro waited 'till he was far enough and shot.
The bolt was going right for the cleric's head. "Covering!" The bolt changed his course and hit the monk (You god damn bastard!) They knew where he was and were now debating what to do with him while grinning like idiots (at least that's how Kuro saw it.).
(If your sorry ass wouldn't be saved by your stupid monk you wouldn't feel so happy with an arrow in your head!)
Unfortunatelly they were not dumb and figured he'd not be alone. They then called out into the forest that their group should come out or they'll kill Kuro. "No don't. So I'll die so what, it had to come one day. Dumah don't be stupid." But Dumah did not respond. and in few moments he saw as the group came out of the woods. (God damn it Dumah...) He jumped from the tree and joined Dumah by his side with onec again loaded crossbow. Suddenly the Monk started laughing.
The monk knew Dumah, and his real name at that, but it was obvious they wren't friends.
When Kuro looked at Dumah, he was furious. He never saw him that mad, he may have seen him angry or annoyed, but not furious.
(This is gonna end in bloodshed, and I'm gonna make sure it'll be blood of these bandits)
In the heathed conversation that followed it was obvious that the monk and Dumah had past. The goal of their quest also started to be more confusing and Kuro wasn't sure if he was on the "right side", not in the way of winning, but moraly right. But he was sure of one thing: Wether this man's goals were noble or not, he did not like this man.
The monk, Adolf pointed out, that it may not even be about the ring anymore, that Dumah may just want revenge.

Then suddenly Sayha spoke up, that she is interested in the story between those two, kinda throwing Dumah under the bus, implying that Dumah is not that "honest".
After that statement Kuro lost all sympathy for Sayha and added her to his list of possible enemies. Dumah was his friend and if he didn't want to talk about what happened between him and this ass, he should not be forced to... by anyone. "I consider Dumah my friend and a good man, who I never seen to blame and/or hate anyone without any good reason. If it is a reason he does not wish to talk about, I respect it." He looked and Sayha. "Would you like to tell me about your personal life? I don't think so!" Kuro was ready to defend Dumah by any means necesary. Once you befriend Kuro, he will be loyal to the end. "Also, I do not belive this bandit scum would tell you the true story anyway." After he finished he whispered so only Dumah, who was nearest, could hear him. "Ready when you are." Afterwards whispering even quiter "{Athropy Break}." (This will not turn out good for me, but I'll at least make them feel it.) He grinned, but it could have not been seen over his green "scarf".
__________________________________________________
[Word count: 582
Tags: @dumah @shadowsaiph @bornfromvelvet Adolf Fletcher Lucian
Note: Sorry if it is shitty, wrote this at 2AM. :/ ]

[Fletcher]

Dumah was talking to Kuro over Telepathy from what he could tell; and based on the conversation Kuro had gotten himself into a position where he could launch the first strike. The early bird catches the worm, fortune favours the bold and so on. The Swashbuckler relayed their plan of attack and the rest of them waited. It was some time before anything else had happened, for as soon as they heard a voice call out amongst the plantlife of the woods. In layman’s terms, it sounded like Kuro had jumped the gun and gotten captured. It wasn’t much of a surprise, although the upside was that no mention of Carbuncle being found had been mentioned; perhaps they could use him later for a surprise attack or for more recon work later.

Dumah seemed angry and begrudgingly led them to where the bandits were camping. The leader and Dumah seemed to know each other. They exchanged words and some morality was questioned as to who was actually actively on a quest to retrieve the ring. Fletcher had volunteered out of lack of anything else to do. It wasn’t his business if they hated each other or if there was some misunderstanding between the two parties. They kept exchanging words until the ring was presented and thrown to Dumah.

And then Sayha piped up.

And then Kuro took a different side.

With an exasperated sigh, Fletcher exclaimed. ”Kids these days!” Fletcher threw up his hands. This was ridiculous, we had one Assassin wanting to talk more about whatever relevant backstory these two had and the other wanted to jump straight into fighting with any excuse as the ignition. ”Kuro, hypothetically and without accusation, what if it turned out that this scum you’re referring to is actually the good guy. We don’t actually know much about what’s going on. If anything Syha’s on the right track for needing to know more.” Fletcher looked at Dumah with a frown, folding his arms. His eyes flicked to his MP to make sure it was still draining away. ”Dumah. If the quest was to get the ring, we have it. Mission accomplished. If the mission was to actually defeat the band here,” Fletcher motioned to the opposing party with a hand before returning it to the other to resume crossing his arms. ”…No offense, Adolf; then that’s where we have a problem.”

Word Count: 397
Total Word Count: 1397

Vote: Abstain

[Deleted]

"It would seem we have company."

'God. Fricken. Dammit.' Kat thought angrily. Kuro's crossbow was near silent, how the hell did that Monk notice it?

Kuro's original target, the Cleric grinned. "What do you want us to do with him?"

"Well, this boy is most likely not the only one who came down here." Kat froze. Well then, that was it. The group was dead. There was absolutely no way that they would make it out of here alive.

"Come on out! We've already got your little Assassin friend, so if you want him to have a chance of surviving this encounter, all of you come out and fight us head on!"

Kat glanced at Dumah, who seemed understandably pissed. He sighed, and nodded at the group to follow. Sayha glared at him. "That is suicide; you're really going to give up that easily? We still have the upper hand." Kat knew that she was right. Logically, it made no sense to follow Dumah down to the bandits. Logically, it made more sense to stay where they were.

Kat sighed as she started to follow Dumah down into the clearing. It didn't make any sense, there was no reason to follow him... but there was no way in hell that she would leave Kuro to die.

The Monk laughed as he saw Dumah. "Well! Is this a surprise or is it not? I should have expected you had something to do with this, Mr. Reecendo." Mr. Reecendo? What?

Kat's eyes widened as she finished processing the information. So, the Monk, the bandit leader that they were sent out to kill, he knew Dumah, possibly in the old world. That... was unexpected. 

The Monk's grin widened as he saw Dumah's clearly distraught face. "Only a fool such as yourself would try to take down a party such as this with such a rag tag gang such as your own. Where is your little daughter?”

'He knows about Alette?' Kat thought worriedly. That could be bad. This man was a bandit, and he was a damn sight more powerful than that little girl... Kat made a mental note to check up on her when this was over.

The Monk and Dumah exchanged a few more words, before the Monk sighed. "Listen to me. You think I stole the ring? That I am in the wrong here? You know nothing of the situation at hand, it would seem. That man who hired you is a despicable man-"

"I do not care about one's past. You stole that ring, and my quest is to retrieve it-"

"MY quest is to retrieve it as well! As I was saying, that man who hired you is despicable. He is a fence, he buys and sells stolen goods. Do you see where I am going with this?"

Kat sighed softly. 'I do.' she thought, silently cursing Dumah. 'Dumah, please tell me you at least did the smallest of checks on your employer? Please? Deny it? ...Dumah?'

"...Go on." 

'...he didn't, did he?'

"I was asked to retrieve that ring for a young girl, she claims it was a gift from her late father before his passing."

"No, you care about no one but yourself! You have some ulterior motive, I am sure of it!" Dumah spoke loudly, although with noticeably less confidence than before.

"Let's drop the moral posturing, shall we? We both know there's no altruism in your pursuit, your reckless indignation led you here, your employer counted on it!"

Kat scoffed. "Resorting to name-calling now, are we?" she muttered quietly.

"I believe at this point it has nothing to do with the ring - this is about you and me. There's no shame in it, Dumah. Revenge is motivation enough, at least it's honest!" Grabbing the ring out of his pocket, he tossed it at Dumah, who caught it without a word. "Hate me, but do it honestly!"

Kat blinked. They had the ring, the quest was over. Alright then, good, that was easy, Kat didn't even have to do anything-

"I didn't realise out party leader was such a wimp." Sayha remarked. '...You utter, utter pillock. You just HAD to make this difficult, didn't you? We were so close!'

Turning to the Monk, Sayha started to speak. “You know, I’m interested in hearing the full story between you and the Swashbuckler here. We obviously didn’t get the full story before signing up; details he should have given us when we originally set up to do this quest. That's my own fault for not asking the right questions." Well good, at least she got that part right. "Now, I have no interested in being used to feeding someone’s vendetta or revenge. I’d ask the Swashbucker, but I have a feeling that he wouldn’t tell the full story. Would you care to? After that, I’m sure Dumah would love to fill in the details when you’re done though.”

'Okay, so she just wants an explanation. That's fine, that's perfectly reasonable. This could still end well, as long as no one jumps in to-'

Kuro glared at Sayha. Oh no. "I consider Dumah my friend and a good man, who I never seen to blame and/or hate anyone without any good reason. If it is a reason he does not wish to talk about, I respect it. Would you like to tell me about your personal life? I don't think so! Also, I do not believe this bandit scum would tell you the true story anyway." 

Fletcher sighed and threw his hands into the air. "Kids these days!" he exclaimed, clearly sick of the two Assassin's bickering.

'Oh, finally, someone with some bloody sense!' she thought as Fletcher calmly defused the situation.

”Dumah. If the quest was to get the ring, we have it. Mission accomplished. If the mission was to actually defeat the band here... no offense, Adolf; then that’s where we have a problem.”

"Does it really matter what the quest was?" Kat spoke up. "Ultimately, our goal was to get the ring. Even if the actual quest turned out to be 'Defeat the Bandits!', we would most likely have to hand in the ring as proof anyway. And, well, we got the ring. The Quest Giver doesn't have anything that could prove we didn't kill those guys." Kat turned around and faced Adolf. "You don't seem like the kind of guy that does favours, so I would assume that the girl, if there even is one, promised you a decent sum of money to get that ring. If we just split the bounty, then everything's good, right? We 'kill' you and get our reward, and you get a cozy little profit out of the deal as well. It's perfect." she grinned as she finished. There we go, that would work.

...

....

.....

Why was everyone so quiet?

Kat mentally slapped herself as she realised what she just did. Well then, let's just hope she didn't need that shy act any time soon. She really needed to work on staying in-character...

Well, whatever. If everything went to plan, she won't need to stick around long. 

...Oh, who was she kidding, nothing ever goes to plan.

[Word Count: 1198
Tags: @dumah @shadowsaiph @kurosan Fletcher Lucian]

[Lucian]

Lucian gave a light sigh after hearing the assassin that stayed behind managed to get himself caught; at least they hadn't caught both Kuro and Sayha, that would have put their odds of negotiating of fighting their way out of this at an all time low. He massaged his temple with one hand after pushing himself up from his comfortable seat at the base of the tree; It wasn't hard to guess how this was going to play out after getting a good judge of Dumah's character. The nod was understood, the party was to give away their position, their only advantage. It was slightly infuriating to have the plan go so awry; Lucian walked in the front of the party, hand resting on the hilt of his sheathed sword as they approached the higher level kidnappers.

Breathing was important, breathing kept him in control ; his hand was tightening its grip on his swords hilt, but he was in control.

The Monk looked at Dumah and bent over in a chuckle, then flung his head up in a full on laugh. "Well! Is this a surprise or is it not? I should have expected you had something to do with this, Mr. Reecendo. Only a fool such as yourself would try to take down a party such as this with such a rag tag gang such as your own. Where is your little daughter?"

This struck Lucian as a surprise, his brow quirking as he looked over to the party leader. Mr. Reecendo? Nordin? That must be Dumah's real name, so then the monk knows him from before everyone got stuck here? Their relationship seems hostile... Eyes looked back to the monk at the mention of Dumah's daughter. He thought it best to say something to calm Dumah down, the monk was intentionally riling their leader up, but Lucian held his tongue; instead he straightened his posture and tried to regain his composure.

"Stop calling me that! My name is no longer Nordin Reecendo! I am Dumah Exilium Iino, and you would do well to remember that." Lucian's lips hesitantly bent into a small smile, the samurai holding back a chuckle since he didn't want to draw attention; he could read the mood, laughing would be wildly inappropriate. Who announces their full name like that in a situation like this?

The morality of the quest was becoming questionable based on the words of the German looking monk. "Arrête ça! Both of you, just quit your bickering. Look, Dumah, we have plenty of options other than just taking the ring back to the bartender. We can talk to the girl that supposedly hired them. We have the ring. Revenge is fine, and even justified if he has deeply wronged you, but separate that from the quest at hand and think about the best possible option.." This would have been easier if I sent him a friend request earlier so I wouldn't have to speak in front of the enemy party but c'est la vie. His smile since faded, his eyes set in a dead stare towards the monk while trying to keep the entire enemy party within his peripheral vision.

Sayha took a deep breath. She carefully thought about the situation before turning to the monk, “You know, I’m interested in hearing the full story between you and the Swashbuckler here. We obviously didn’t get the full story before signing up; details he should have given us when we originally set up to do this quest. That’s my own fault for not asking the right questions. Now, I have no interested in being used to feeding someone’s vendetta or revenge. I’d ask the Swashbucker, but I have a feeling that he wouldn’t tell the full story. Would you care to? After that, I’m sure Dumah would love to fill in the details when you’re done though.”"

His ears twitched as he heard Sayha speak, his gaze fixed straight ahead as he spoke. "Our life before Elder Tale no longer matters, we have no right to pry into Dumah's if he does not wish it, even if it is relevant to the situation at hand. The only story that matters is the one behind the ring. Dumah hired us, and i trust him." Regardless of his stance on the ring, he was ready to draw his blade, though he didn't want to.

Words:730
Word total: 1650
Tags: @dumah Fletcher @bornfromvelvet @kurosan @shadowsaiph
----
Vote: don't give up the ring until we know the story

[Deleted]

This turn of events had managed to really split the party. What hurt most was Sayha's words as she branded Dumah as a wimp. Hearing such words struck Dumah deeper than any blade. A man's pride is often more vulnerable than his body. Sayha turned her attention to Adolf, and spoke. She stated her interest in knowing the details of Dumah and Adolf's past together, claiming Dumah withheld information from his own party before they all joined. She slandered Dumah further and further, stating that all of those who joined his party were merely being played as pawns to fulfill a vendetta against Adolf, that if she asked Dumah directly he would bend words and give her more lies. What's worse is that she expected Adolf to give her the truth... Even if he didn't she believed that Dumah would fill in any holes in his testimony. Dumah liked to take any and all failure as a learning opportunity; in this case, Dumah learned who his true allies were.

Dumah was about to open his mouth to admit that he himself knew little to nothing regarding the situation, but before he could speak, another voice rose. Where as the last input in the matter was antagonizing Dumah, slandering his honor and accusing him of lying, this next voice stood by the party leader, bringing much relief and joy to him. Kuro seemed to hold anger at Sayha, stating he respects Dumah and considers him a dear friend who has never shown any reason to be hated. Kuro respected the fact that Dumah is entitled to his privacy and that he has no reason to divulge any of his own secrets. As he relieved Dumah's pain from the harsh words of Sayha, Kuro then returned such words at her, sarcastically and rhetorically asking if she would be just as comfortable being completely open and forward with the facts and details of her personal life. To have the support of a party member- no, of a friend, was relieving, and it almost brought a smile to Dumah's face. Even though he kept his stoic, serious expression, he was happy on the inside. Dumah was relieved to hear that he still had Kuro's support, and that the Assassin presumed that Adolf's story would be fabricated and false nonetheless.

Adolf looked at Kuro, and for but a fleeting second, it almost seemed as though he had a joyous grin on his face. "'Bandit scum?' It is just as the girl said: None of you know the true story. Nevertheless, why would I lie? I am a man bound by my own honor, just as your party leader is."

The next one to speak was the Dwarf, presenting his standing on the situation. He proposed the possibility that the party found themselves on the opposite end of the moral compass, where Adolf could very possibly be the good guy in all this, and how nobody knew what was actually going on. He supported Sayha's reaction for her desire to know more. Fletcher looked at Dumah with a frown, folding his arms. Dumah was a bit worried that his valor and morality would once again be questioned and doubted. He then stated how the quest was already complete, and that the party has done what was asked of it: get the ring. The only reason the party might need to stay is if the quest was to defeat the bandits before them, and with a short gesture to the enemy party, the Summoner stated that the problem would lie in that objective.

Adolf grinned a bit and cracked his knuckles, though it seemed less as a threatening gesture and more to simply relieve tension in his fists. "Indeed, you have the ring. And thus, the tables have turned; your quest has become to return the ring to your employer, while our quest has become to take it from those who it does not rightfully belong to. However..." Adolf glanced to Dumah, who was a bit torn emotionally; he was staring at the ring. Adolf grinned, pleased with Dumah's state. "...I believe there is no need to fight. If we return without the quest item, then that is that; it could not have been helped."

Kat then spoke up, pondering if it really mattered what the quest's exact objective was. She stated there was no point in defeating the bandits even if that was the objective, as the ring - the very thing the party had been tasked to retrieve - was the item that would likely serve as proof of their defeat. The ring was now in their possession, and that was all the proof they needed to convince the quest giver that Adolf's band had been defeated. Shifting her focus from Dumah to Adolf, Kat started to evaluate Adolf's character as the type that does not do favors, believing that the bandit leader was offered a large amount of gold to fulfill his own quest. Though, what came next surprised Dumah - Katarina proposed that Dumah's party 'kill' Adolf and keep the ring, turn it in to complete the quest, and then split the reward with Adolf's gang.

"I do not, do I? I seem selfish, do I? Tell me, girl: Had you a dear friend whom made a request, would you not make an attempt to fulfill their wish? Surely your party leader understands what I am trying to say."

The next to speak was Lucian, the Samurai of the party. He spoke bits of some foreign language, probably French. "Arrête ça!" He seemed fed up with the arguing on both sides, stating that there are plenty of other options. The one he suggested though was to speak with Adolf's quest giver and confirm the validity of his story. He claimed revenge was alright and even justified if Dumah had been deeply wronged by Adolf, but Lucian wanted Dumah to keep his personal matters aside from his work so they could come to an unbiased conclusion. He supported Kuro's earlier statement that Dumah has every right to keep his secrets if he wishes, especially those of the old world and the life before Elder Tale. All that mattered right now was what was happening right now. It was relieving to hear more support for Dumah, and he smiled, pocketing the ring.

As Dumah began to speak, everyone could feel it begin to rain. "You are right, Lucian. We have the ring, and our quest is thus over. Let us go turn this quest in then." He turned to walk away, and as he began to walk away, Adolf spoke.

"Take the ring; we will not fight for it. I take it the man who employed you lot offered a reward? Then tell me, how does that make you any different from me? You allege that I am merely doing this for money, but is that not what is motivating you all? You are, indeed, just like us then..."

Dumah clenched his teeth and curled his hands into fists; he kept walking, hoping to ignore Adolf's words. "I am nothing like you, nor is anyone in this party..."

"Oh? Then you are doing this simply because you have nothing better to do, or is it to support your guild? Perhaps you hope to amass as much gold as possible in hopes of funding some wild search for a way out? I do not blame you. I am sure you would give anything to see the two you left behind in that world."

"Be quiet..."

Adolf clapped in revelation. "I am right, am I not? What was her name again? Isabelle?"

It took all his strength to keep walking away from the enemy party; it was clear Dumah was ready to snap.

"It truly does not matter now, does it? They are in another world, after all. They may as well be dead."

Dumah stopped walking, his body now shaking in anger. "Be quiet...!"

"What is wrong, Reecendo? Why, you're trembling!"

"Do not call me that...!"

"Come now, tell me what is wrong... Have I struck a nerve..." Adolf spoke with a sadistic grin, emphasizing each syllable, "...Ree-cen-do?"

Dumah shouted at himself on the inside; 'Do not let this bastard win,' 'He is merely playing with you,' 'Stop it, you are a leader, you must lead by example.' It was pointless however, Adolf had pushed Dumah too far. Dumah turned around and sprinted at the Monk, throwing a direct punch at his smug face. Dumah was furious, a side that no man but Adolf could ever release. Despite the brawl, Adolf's party stayed out of it. The Monk took each punch and laughed. 'Dammit... Damn this man...' Adolf did not attempt to fight back, and he knew Dumah's pride and honor would not let him kill a man who refuses to fight back. Dumah had become a puppet, played skillfully by his silver-haired enemy. After Dumah had pummeled Adolf thoroughly, he was gasping for breath. Blind rage can truly exhaust a man.

Adolf's only reaction was his sinister laughter. Dumah stood up, and began to walk away from the scene. As he passed his party, he muttered softly, "We are leaving..." With that, both parties began to leave. As Dumah's party made their way back to Londinium, the Swashbuckler acted very distant, and detached, as if he had told his legs to walk and did his best to ignore the world around him.

- Words: 1575 -
- Total: 3306 -

[Deleted]

	Sayha listened to what everyone else had to say. Kuro was against her and so was Lucian. Fletcher partially took her side, and Kat was just on the fence. It had begun to rain just as Dumah announced that the quest was over since they had the ring. Sayha did want the full story, no doubt about that. However, she understood that she was outnumbered and out leveled. There was no point in pushing the fact. She took a dep breath just as the Monk began to talk again. Dumah replied, and his hands clenched into fists. He tried to keep walking, ignoring the monk. However, the monk and Dumah exchanged more words, and Dumah ended up in a brawl with him. The monk just laughed; there was no way Dumah did any damage to him. Dumah didn’t seem to care at this point and continued leaving. He told the party that they were leaving, but something was very different about him. Sayha recognized the look right away as she had done it many times before: pull your mind into itself. It was a basic defense mechanism. Sayha looked at the monk, quickly studying him. “Knowledge may be power, but remember that power corrupts,” Sayha said, with an edge in her voice. She wasn’t necessarily defending Dumah but she was no longer against him, “When your power corrupts you, I look forward to watching your fall.” Sayha turned back towards Dumah and followed behind him, though she kept her distance from him. “And for the record,” Sayha began speaking to the party, “I will gladly talk about my past before the game. Whether you want it to or not, it is a part of us now even though we’re in this game. Don’t forget that or you’ll lose yourself.”
Coding by Sayha of ET	Word Count: 299 | Total Count: 1604